Munster upfront about Roosters’ contact and Nene MacDonald is a social media cowboy …
HOW Melbourne found out about the Roosters’ interest in Cameron Munster so fast, Nene MacDonald a social media cowboy and Fox sniffing around Ponga.
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HOW Melbourne found out about the Roosters’ interest in Cameron Munster so fast, Nene MacDonald’s social media mistake and Fox sniffing around Ponga. It’s all in What’s the Buzz.
SAINT
SOMETIMES life can be so cruel. Lance Thompson was a great man. A knockabout bloke more than an angel. One of the toughest men to ever play rugby league. Rest in peace, old mate.
SINNERS
CRONULLA Sharks Josh Dugan and Andrew Fifita. This pair should spend a week with Jake and Tom Trbojevic to learn about dignity, class and respect.
SHOOSH
WHICH Sydney-based former NRL player is under the radar of police over suspicions he is dealing drugs to current players? This could become a major, major story.
WAIKIKI WILL: Chambers’ foul holiday reward
IN THE RED: NRL clubs’ shocking finances revealed
SHOOSH II
WHICH old NRL enforcer sent me this text message about Andrew Fifita: “I wish he’d played back in my era when we could bash blokes. There’d be a long queue behind me looking for Fifita.”
SPOTTED
OLD NRL stars Ronnie Gibbs and Nathan Blacklock at Bourke Bowling Club to raise desperately needed funds for the local footy clubs feeling the effects of the drought.
SPOTTED II
LEAGUE Immortal Bob Fulton buying a new suit from Stewarts Gentlemens Outfitters in Elizabeth St, which has fitted and supplied Origin and Kangaroos blazers for 40 years.
SPOTTED III
THEN Treasurer Scott Morrison with a Cronulla Sharks sticker on his diary as he stood by under-siege PM Malcolm Turnbull in the House of Representatives earlier this week.
SPOTTED IV
POLICE at Titans HQ on the Gold Coast after the cars of five staff members had windows smashed and items stolen in broad daylight. Police have CCTV footage and are investigating.
SPOTTED V
REFEREE Gerard Sutton at Dragons training addressing players and coaching staff. Since Origin they have gone from the most-disciplined side in the comp to almost the worst.
SPOTTED VI
WE’RE not sure who owns this car or who they’ll be cheering for if the Roosters and Rabbits meet in the grand final.
NINE OUT-FOXED IN PONGA CHASE
FOX Sports has beaten rivals Channel 9 in a duel to sign budding superstar Kalyn Ponga.
The Newcastle Knight has joined the pay TV network for regular appearances on Fox League channels from next season.
It is a coup for Fox Sports because Channel 9’s affiliate network in Newcastle, NBN, had been keen to snare the rookie who is rated as the NRL’s next big thing. He has looked a natural in media gigs on Channel 9 and Fox Sports this year.
“Kalyn is just a kid but appears to have enormous potential both on and off the field,” said Fox Sports head of television Steve Crawley.
“Fox League has more and more kids watching and we are delighted to welcome someone who speaks their language onto our team.”
MUNSTER QUICK TO TELL
IT didn’t take Melbourne Storm long to find out the Sydney Roosters were chasing boom five-eighth or fullback Cameron Munster for when his contract expires at the end of next year.
The moment he got off the phone from the third party who contacted him on behalf of the Roosters, Munster walked into coach Craig Bellamy’s office to tell him.
They met with Storm football general manager Frank Ponissi and agreed to put all contract talks on hold until the end of the season. The interesting player in Munster’s future is Rabbitohs coach Anthony Seibold.
If Seibold was to eventually take Wayne Bennett’s job at the Broncos, it would be an interesting situation considering how close he is to Munster.
NENE WINED AND DINED
ST GEORGE Illawarra winger Nene MacDonald had dinner at China Doll on the Woolloomooloo wharf last week and posted a video on social media.
A person’s voice at his table sounded very much like that of North Queensland Cowboys recruitment chief Clint Zammit, a former player manager.
Interestingly, MacDonald deleted the video about an hour later when it became apparent he was in the company of Cowboys officials trying to woo him to Townsville. Not surprising considering the lack of speed in a sluggish Cowboys’ three-quarter line this year.
JT’S SELL-OUT
IN a great sign of Johnathan Thurston’s incredible popularity, all seats to his farewell game at CB Super Stadium next Saturday have been sold. It will be a bigger crowd than the 25,000 who turned up for Jarryd Hayne’s first appearance in 2016. The gate will be worth over $500,000, almost triple a regular Titans home game.
EVEREST CLASH ALL SORTED
THE Sydney Kings’ opening National Basketball League game on Saturday afternoon, October 13, is expected to be sold out at Qudos Bank Arena amid all the excitement about new centre Andrew Bogut. Trouble is the game against the Adelaide 36ers clashes with Australia’s richest horse race, The Everest, at Royal Randwick. Not a problem. Kings CEO Paul Kind is in talks with racing authorities to show the race on the big screen at the basketball during the game.
TONGA’S KIG HIT
TODD Greenberg wasn’t the only one fighting to save the Kangaroos’ Test match against Tonga. The Test looked doomed because the NZRL did not want any competition to its clash with Australia.
Last week the King of Tonga, no less, rang Greenberg and asked him to do all he could to save the game. Greenberg summoned the CEO and chairman of the NZRL last week to Sydney where a solution was found. The Test will now proceed and the king will no doubt be in attendance.
HONKING IN
HOW does an out-of-work footy coach spend his now free weekends? Ex-Penrith coach Anthony “Hook” Griffin celebrated his 51st birthday with a weekend away in Melbourne. Griffin was spotted at the MCG cheering for Richmond against the Western Bulldogs.
CHERRY-EVANS NEARLY LANDED A MONSTER
TALK about wishful thinking. A mathematician contacted us to reveal Manly Sea Eagles skipper Daly Cherry-Evans needed to kick the ball 58m with his penalty goal attempt against the Wests Tigers on Thursday night to draw the game.
It was from 47m out and 1m in from touch. Miraculously, the ball fell only about a metre short and right in line with the black dot. It was probably the best kick we’ll see all season, even better than Kyle Feldt’s 54m monster penalty goal for the Cowboys against the Brisbane Broncos back in round 22.
NO STOPPING
OPPONENTS of the new Allianz Stadium development were hoping the building work would be delayed until next year’s State election in case Labor won and abandoned the project. Not so. A team of building workers have already arrived in Moore Park to prepare for the stadium demolition once the NRL finals series is over.
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